OPTIMIZATION OF THE EXTRACTION METHOD FOR ORGANOPHOSPHATE FLAME RETARDANTS IN INDOOR DUST AND ANALYSIS ON A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC/MS)

Abstract

The widespread use of organophosphate flame retardants in commercial and industrial products has
led to their increased presence in the environment. The aim of this study is to optimize the extraction
and analytical procedure for simultaneous determination of 15 organophosphate flame retardants
(OPFRs) in air particle sample. The determination and quantification of OPFRs in air particle samples
were performed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with selected ion monitoring
(SIM). OPFRs in air particle sample were extracted by ultrasonic extraction with dichloromethane in
dark, followed by purification using florisil solid phase extraction (SPE) column and determination by
GC/MS-SIM. The results show that this pre-treatment method is simple, quick, effective and less solvent
consumption. The recoveries of OPFRs were from 88,2% to 104%, with relative standard deviation of
below 4,14%. This method showed a good precision and accuration in the determination of OPFRs in
air particle samples. The method was then successfully applied for determination of organophosphate
flame retardants (OPFRs) in indoor air particle samples collected in Thanh Xuan District - Hanoi.